LOVE NEVER FAILS
07th May 2025
1 Corinthians 13 may possibly be the most familiar chapter in the Bible. We often hear it read at weddings, and sometimes at funerals. It was in my daily reading a few days ago and as I read the words, I was convicted that we can read these words without really taking in what is being said.
Verses 4-8 state, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
If we are really filled with the love of God, how are we doing with these instructions?
Jesus said to his disciples in John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this will all men know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Love is a foundation of our faith and should be the trade mark of every believer.
1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Some time ago, Joyce & I were listening to a message given by our son Daniel. He spoke about have been deeply offended by someone, and was determined to get even the next time they met. However, in the time it took for this meeting to happen, he said, “The next time I met this person, I had forgotten what they had done, because instant forgiveness has been such a principle of my life.”
When Jesus met Peter on the beach after the resurrection, He did not try and resolve Peter’s triple denial, He asked, “Peter, do you love me?”
As 1 Corinthians 13 was impacting me a few days ago, I asked myself, “Do I keep a record of wrongs, am I self seeking, do I protect others, do I trust, hope and persevere?”
Familiar passages of Scripture can so easily lose their impact - don’t let it happen!
by Charles Sibthorpe
